Lounsbury, John H.

Described as the “moral compass” of the middle school (Doda, 2011, p. 189), John H. Lounsbury found his way to his true North of middle grades education in a roundabout fashion. After serving in the United States Army in World War II, Lounsbury started as a biology major before earning a bachelor’s degree in social studies education in 1947 from John B. Stetson University and then a master’s degree in secondary education in 1948.

Early in his teaching career, Lounsbury was asked to take the lead in “converting” two elementary schools into junior high schools. Admittedly, he did not know much about junior high schools at the time, so he made it his mission to learn more. He ended up centering his doctoral research at George Peabody College (Nashville, TN) on education for young adolescents, resulting in his 1954 dissertation, The Role and Function of the Junior High School.